After poor Carabao Cup performance, Arteta told to get rid of one Arsenal player.
The Gunners’ poor Carabao Cup game
Arsenal’s lost in the reverse fixture against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
Following that loss, several Arsenal players received some backlash.
Large discussion has surrounded Kai Havertz. He has received a meaningful portion of the criticism. The board’s decision against signing a new striker has lessened Mikel’s several options.
The German international worked hard throughout the game, but he failed to effect the match.
Jason Cundy criticized Havertz’s Carabao Cup performance
Jason Cundy, former English football professional, was not a fan of the German. Cundy has seen a lot of Kai during his time at Chelsea.
The football pundit also came under fire for his comments on Myles Lewis-Skelly. He thinks the north London side should replace their no.9 as quickly as possible.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “Havertz, if ever there is a game Arsenal fans want to go and show the board and say ‘this is why we need a striker’, today is it.
“Havertz, he just walks around up there at times. That’s the Havertz we saw at Chelsea. He throws in these performances every now and then. He’ll throw in a couple of brilliant ones and get goals. But let me tell you now, that Havertz is there, they need to get rid of that Havertz, that performance in Havertz.
“I thought he was terrible today, absolutely.”
The Germany international played all the 90 minutes up front. He completed just 11 passes from his total 18 attempted passes. That means 61 percent passing accuracy. The forward also created zero chances and had zero shots on target. He also failed to complete a single dribble, crosses or long balls, losing eight duels in the game, as per FotMob.
Martinelli’s injury update
Head coach Mikel Arteta shared that Martinelli felt his hamstring. After that he was subbed off on Wednesday. He was quickly taken off the field.
The Brazil international will undergo MRI scan to see his extent of the injury. Arteta stated (via Fabrizio Romano): “Gabriel Martinelli felt something, it was his hamstring and he wasn’t comfortable to continue. So we will have to have MRI scan tomorrow to see the extent of the injury.”
Martinelli was taken off in the 36th minute as he was unable to continue. It looked like he felt something in his hamstring. Ethan Nwaneri came on to replace him. The Gunners supporter’s will be hoping that the Brazilian’s injury isn’t serious. As already they are missing Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka due to long-term injuries.
Author’s Opinion
Looks like football pundit Jason Cundy was brutally honest on his views on Kai. Let’s hope the German finds his goal scoring rhythm again and proves his worth.
Arsenal, again, will be facing criticism for not making any new signings during the January transfer window. The fact that they were desperately in need of a striker but failed to bring in any.
With increasing injury concerns to their squad, they’ll hope Martinelli’s injury isn’t as serious as it looked.
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